Twins 12, Mariners 6 (10 Innings): Late-Inning Heroics Stun Mariners

[Schmoeman5]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

This gets repeated so often it has almost become a Minnesota urban legend, but it is not factual. Last year, the Twins were above the league average in average innings pitched per start, ranking 12th of the 30 teams at 5.3. The year before that (2023), they were third best in baseball at 5.6 average innings pitched per start. This year, they are currently slightly below the league average (5.3) at 5.2. People should let this one go - Rocco doesn't have the 'quick hook' many believe he has.

It hasn't been the case for Matthews.  And it's still early for him. That's the 1st speed bump he's let him go over if my memory is correct.

[JD-TWINS]

Larnach (let’s erect the statue now) had a great night - really cool to see him look sharp! 

But how about Castro? Last 3 PA’s were HR - HR - key walk ………scored 3 runs!  Played at least 2 positions……..if he heats up a bit with Wallner back, O will be looking good?

 

[1985Fan]

1 hour ago, arby58 said:

This gets repeated so often it has almost become a Minnesota urban legend, but it is not factual. Last year, the Twins were above the league average in average innings pitched per start, ranking 12th of the 30 teams at 5.3. The year before that (2023), they were third best in baseball at 5.6 average innings pitched per start. This year, they are currently slightly below the league average (5.3) at 5.2. People should let this one go - Rocco doesn't have the 'quick hook' many believe he has.

Rocco normally would have pulled the starter in the 5th or 6th. Which would have followed the average you pointed out. I’m giving Rocco credit for sticking with Zebby until the 7th, especially after the Twins came back and made it a one run game. Letting Matthews go out in the 7th must have gave Rocco heart palpitations and dizziness. He was probably on the verge of passing out! It isn’t easy for me to give him credit either….

[stringer bell]

Things look a lot better today than if they had lost the game last night. Instead of being 1-3 on the trip, they break-even (2-2) with an excellent chance to win a road series (two good experienced pitchers taking the ball and only needing one win to take the series). The team has the #1 wild card and a lead on both Cleveland and KC.

This is their second comeback from a 4-run deficit in the last week after going about a year without winning from such a deficit. Lots of heroes—Larnach, Correa, Buxton, Castro and Zebby for starters—and other guys added key hits.

Hopefully the Twins can jump on the Mariners early and take advantage of a good time going through a bad time. Don’t throw Raleigh a strike with runners on!

[bean5302]

1 hour ago, Melissa said:

...Matthews gets squeezed by umps all the time...

Went back and looked at every single pitch thrown by Matthews in the GameDay Boxscore. There was one pitche where I'd need to have blown the image up to see whether or not they caught the slightest hair of the strike zone which was called a ball, and three strikes which were called "balls" on the extreme corner catching maybe 1/4"-1/2" of the zone. 

Here is every single call the ump "missed" or might have missed where there were over a dozen pitches which were literally on the line that the ump correctly called a strike. The ump appeared to be excellent to me.

[bean5302]

It's great to see Buxton and Correa on the ball after coming back from concussions!

[Blyleven2011]

It was a game worth staying awake for ...

Down 4-0 after 1 inning was deflating but the twins fought back late for comeback win ...

The Manfred ghost runner inning was the best Manfred inning the twins have ever played,  if memory serves me right ...

It was a great win and I had a good nights sleep ...

[Dman]

1 hour ago, JD-TWINS said:

Watching from Cincinnati - Sands gives up home run with their closer up - TV off, too late here to hang any longer. SHOCKED this a.m. for sure!

Was really down on Matthews after the 3 run HR - fastball in, but not “in”, to the leader in HR’s ……..first two guys had seeing eye hits, Polanco’s was 80mph off the bat and Crawford 57mph. Arozarena hit a chin high 98mph fastball, so that was just a chance HR with bad timing for Zebby. He really showed a bunch of character continuing to grind to just get through 5, but he confidently got through 7……….he may be OK!

No idea how they got to 12 yet but that’s a big MO bump for the rest of the trip!

Yeah I did the same thing. they clawed back to give me hope down just 4 to 3 but after Sands gave up the runs that was enough for me to be done.  It doesn't happen often but they came back against a very good closer.  Will have to watch the highlights, but that was impressive. Hope they keep hitting well.

[Bracky]

1 hour ago, Bracky said:

My son and I drove up from Oregon for the series. What game this was to watch live! The Mariner stadium was rocking after the 8th and just deflated in the 9th and 10th. A lot of Twins fans out here making noise!

Win Twins!

Had to figure out how to get a picture from the game down to size! Sat right behind the visitor dugout and it was great to see their energy at the end!

[TheLeviathan]

Yet another win that shows this team has a clubhouse that is working.  They have fight.

[Parfigliano]

3 hours ago, Bodie said:

Methinks that FlyingFinn has far too much time on his hands... hope you used some of it to catch last night's game.  

I fell asleep at 4-1, with a fresh pot of coffees.  Woke up at 3am to good Twins news, but at 3am!

Move out West where games don't end that late

[Richie the Rally Goat]

2 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Matthews gave up 4 runs through 5 batters.

Lopez got rocked the other day. It happens. 

No reason to think Sands is crumbling because he isn’t perfect . He got the first two guys & screwed up and walked a guy…….then he’s pitching to his college teammate (roommate?) and he missed with the “pitch in” just like Matthews and he paid the price. He’ll be OK, IMO.

The manager also gave him leash to go 7 innings 4 runs, 7ks, 1 bb. His best outing of his short season.

[Western SD Fan]

3 hours ago, Melissa said:

Matthews gets squeezed by umps all the time,

This isn't just a Zebby occurrence.  This is becoming a league-wide phenomenon.  I've seen a lot of clips this season where pitchers are getting squeezed.  Commentators have suggested that it is the result of the buffer zone being moved in from 2" to 0.75".  Since the buffer zone is part of their grading on how they are calling behind the plate, I can see more umps squeezing that strike call if they are not sure whether it is in the buffer zone.

[Richie the Rally Goat]

3 hours ago, arby58 said:

This gets repeated so often it has almost become a Minnesota urban legend, but it is not factual. Last year, the Twins were above the league average in average innings pitched per start, ranking 12th of the 30 teams at 5.3. The year before that (2023), they were third best in baseball at 5.6 average innings pitched per start. This year, they are currently slightly below the league average (5.3) at 5.2. People should let this one go - Rocco doesn't have the 'quick hook' many believe he has.

We can quibble about 12th bring above average. I’d call it average. Still, your point remains accurate.

2023 the Twins ranked 4th in innings pitched by starting pitchers. Baldelli tries to avoid mid-inning calls to the bullpen because inherited runners score at a high rate, but he does give his starters leash. The quick-hook stereotype is not a Baldelli thing, it’s a league-wide thing.

[bean5302]

11 minutes ago, Western SD Fan said:

This isn't just a Zebby occurrence.  This is becoming a league-wide phenomenon.  I've seen a lot of clips this season where pitchers are getting squeezed.  Commentators have suggested that it is the result of the buffer zone being moved in from 2" to 0.75".  Since the buffer zone is part of their grading on how they are calling behind the plate, I can see more umps squeezing that strike call if they are not sure whether it is in the buffer zone.

Didn't get squeezed. My comment above. Fans will be fans and remember everything they don't agree with, but rarely think about good calls. Umpiring in MLB has gotten better and better.
 

 

[Patzky]

24 minutes ago, Parfigliano said:

Move out West where games don't end that late

But those late morning. Games!

[Sjoski]

3 hours ago, Old Twins Cap said:

For the rest of us, it's the highlight reel of baseball fantasies, which seemingly, never happens when we watch the actual game.

I actually had to watch the highlight reel twice to make sure it wasn't a dream. 

Epic win.

[chinmusic]

I like Zebby's ability to recover after a rocky 1st, and pitch 7.

I think it bodes well for his future.

Wonder what his inning by inning pitch count was....

 

[Sjoski]

What a comeback win. So many heroes...but if Correa doesn't advance Jeffers to 3rd in the 4th inning...then Lee drive him home with an infield out to make the score 4-2....most likely...Twins lose 6-5.

Just saying small ball played a huge roll in the win. 

 

[jorgenswest]

2 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Went back and looked at every single pitch thrown by Matthews in the GameDay Boxscore. There was one pitche where I'd need to have blown the image up to see whether or not they caught the slightest hair of the strike zone which was called a ball, and three strikes which were called "balls" on the extreme corner catching maybe 1/4"-1/2" of the zone. 

Here is every single call the ump "missed" or might have missed where there were over a dozen pitches which were literally on the line that the ump correctly called a strike. The ump appeared to be excellent to me.

Thanks.

I have done screenshots from video where the broadcast box is different from the game zone box. I am not sure that is the case for yesterday’s game. It is possible that the TV box was different.

I also agree that the umpire was excellent and when I am watching in game cast or TV I would go with the umpire unless at least half the ball is in the zone when questioning his call of a ball. Similarly if I question a strike there would need to be a half ball of space between the ball and the strike zone.

[jkcarew]

Not as important as a playoff win, but probably the “best” win in several years. Up there with some of the classics through the years.

And a turning point for Matthew’s, as well?

[bean5302]

6 minutes ago, jorgenswest said:

Thanks.

I have done screenshots from video where the broadcast box is different from the game zone box. I am not sure that is the case for yesterday’s game. It is possible that the TV box was different.

I also agree that the umpire was excellent and when I am watching in game cast or TV I would go with the umpire unless at least half the ball is in the zone when questioning his call of a ball. Similarly if I question a strike there would need to be a half ball of space between the ball and the strike zone.

It is different. The broadcast just shows a 2D box while I think Gameday considers the 3D strike zone. I don't hold any of the above calls against the ump at all. Unless a ball is more than 1/2 way in or out of the zone, it's just too small of an error to really care about. Keep in mind, a baseball is less than 3" in diameter.

[bean5302]

14 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

I like Zebby's ability to recover after a rocky 1st, and pitch 7.

I think it bodes well for his future.

Wonder what his inning by inning pitch count was....

 

Inning
1 - 18
2 - 17
3 - 10
4 - 11
5 - 11
6 - 15
7 - 11

[twinstalker]

5 hours ago, Melissa said:

Twins TV streaming with the ability to watch complete games live or later has been a real boon this year.

I've never had an issue doing this prior to this year.  When I had cable, I DVR'd games, when I used the FSN app, I had the option to watch from the beginning, when I used Fubo, I had it record all Twins games, and now with the mlb.tv app, as you say, I can also watch from the beginning.  I haven't watched a game live in over 25 years, usually starting 30-60 minutes behind (to skip commercials), sometimes after it was over, and almost never when I knew the outcome.  I guess I've watched a few playoff games where it was live, but that was more for other people's sake.

[bean5302]

18 minutes ago, twinstalker said:

I've never had an issue doing this prior to this year.  When I had cable, I DVR'd games, when I used the FSN app, I had the option to watch from the beginning, when I used Fubo, I had it record all Twins games, and now with the mlb.tv app, as you say, I can also watch from the beginning.  I haven't watched a game live in over 25 years, usually starting 30-60 minutes behind (to skip commercials), sometimes after it was over, and almost never when I knew the outcome.  I guess I've watched a few playoff games where it was live, but that was more for other people's sake.

...and yet the good 'ol blackout policies still remain. The Twins were the free game of the day recently. Decided I would tune in, but nope, blacked out without me having the special subscription.

F-MLB's television policies to hell. Forever.

[gil4]

Quote

Cal Raleigh hit a two-run homer to give Seattle what must have felt like an indomitable lead: Seattle closer Andrés Muñoz had a 0.00 ERA, after all. Might as well turn the TV off. 

I came so close to doing just that.  Reaching for the remote was just too much effort - sometimes laziness pays off.  

[Mike Sixel]

2 hours ago, Patzky said:

But those late morning. Games!

Give you time to do things at night. 

[arby58]

2 hours ago, Richie the Rally Goat said:

The quick-hook stereotype is not a Baldelli thing, it’s a league-wide thing.

Exactly right. The game has changed - I was looking at some Twins pitching stats. This is average regular season complete games by decade - with non-162 game regular seasons removed:

1960s:  47
1970s:  40
1980s:  27
1990s:  12
2000s: 6
2010s:  4  

[mark sills]

I thought in the first inning zebby was headed to st Paul. What a comeback by him and the team

[chinmusic]

3 hours ago, bean5302 said:

Wonder what his inning by inning pitch count was....

Thanks! Very impressive trajectory.  I was thinking it might have been something like that.